My Story:

I always knew school was harder for me than it seemed to be for others.

Reading and writing didn’t come easily. I was pulled out for intervention groups, made to carry around a black “spelling folder” that only reminded me I was behind. I masked my struggles, worked hard to keep up, and had no idea that the real reason for all of it had a name: AuDHD.

I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 35.

But even as a child, there were sparks, moments of belonging and joy that showed me what learning could feel like.

In Year 6, I had a teacher who saw me.

He brought creativity, engagement, and curiosity to life in the classroom. We sat in replica parliament seats, tracked our own stock portfolios in maths, solved riddles each morning, and completed hands-on projects that made me feel smart, excited, and capable.

That year, I received the Grade 6 academic scholarship, and it changed how I saw myself.

It also sparked something else:

That’s when I knew I wanted to be a teacher.

In high school, the struggle continued. I worked twice as hard just to keep up....and I did. But it always felt like I was paddling furiously under the surface while others coasted.

Years later, when I became a parent to neurodivergent children of my own, it was like something clicked.

Everything I’d experienced, every struggle, every mask, every creative strategy I’d clung to...suddenly made sense.

And for the first time, I could name it.

I was neurodivergent too.

Learning to support my own children gave me firsthand experience as a parent, a problem-solver, and an advocate.

And as an educator, I began applying those same strategies and understandings to my professional life...supporting students, leading teams, coaching teachers, and finding new ways to include all brains in learning.

In 2022, I wrote a children’s book called Unmasking Millie, a story for girls like me who didn’t know why school felt so hard—but carried on anyway. I’ve since written a follow-up, Managing Millie, because I want no child to grow up thinking they’re lazy or broken.

Now, after gaining a scholarship to study my Master of Inclusive Education, I finally feel like every part of my journey has led me here.

This is my purpose:

To unmask education.

To support students who feel unseen.

To empower educators with real strategies.

To help parents become confident advocates.

And to build a world where neurodivergent learners aren’t asked to change who they are in order to belong.

Because education should fit every brain...not the other way around.